The Coimbatore City Police on Thursday launched the ‘Street Libraries’ initiative across thirty selected streets in the city. Through this initiative, the police aim to divert the minds of children from possible involvement in criminal activities during free time and take to reading.

With assistance of GRG Trust, the police will set up fifty libraries, City Police Commissioner V Balakrishnan, IPS told reporters. Adding that twenty more street libraries would be set up soon.

The streets selected for the project are in slums and highly populated areas, and the police stations in the respective area will monitor the libraries, he said.

Since interesting books are neither affordable nor accessible to children of such areas, these libraries will help them to involve in reading after school hours without indulging in criminal activities, Balakrishnan said.

The bookshelves in each street will contain 200 books which will encourage the children inculcate the habit of reading instead of participating in criminal activities or misusing the cell phones.

Last week, Coimbatore Police had introduced the ‘Library on Wheels’ project where books and newspapers were given to autorickshaw drivers so that the commuters could spend the journey reading.

The Commissioner had told reporters that ‘Library on Cabs’ initiative would also be introduced soon.